About the Book
Title: The Twiceborn Queen
Author: Marina Finlayson
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Kate O’Connor’s had a rough week. Thrown into the middle of a war of
succession between the daughters of the dragon queen, her introduction to the
hidden world of the shifters almost proved fatal. Now, because of Kate and her
new powers, that hidden realm has been revealed to the world, which hasn’t
exactly won Kate any popularity contests.
Still, it’s not all bad news. After all, it’s not every day someone you
love comes back from the dead. Throw in a hot new boyfriend, and suddenly
Kate’s got a lot to live for—which is bad timing, because now the queen’s set a
bounty on her head and every shifter in Sydney is trying to collect it.
Kate may have defeated a dragon already, but there are plenty more where
that one came from. As her enemies close in and the body count mounts, Kate
begins a desperate search for allies. The deadly game of the proving continues.
If Kate is to save the people she loves, failure is not an option. The rules
are simple: win or die.
The Twiceborn Queen is the second book in the urban fantasy trilogy The Proving.
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Author Bio
Marina Finlayson is a reformed wedding organist who now writes fantasy.
She is married and shares her Sydney home with three kids, a large collection
of dragon statues and one very stupid dog with a death wish.
Links
Website: www.marinafinlayson.com/
Books page on author’s website: www.marinafinlayson.com/books/
Book Excerpts
I hurried to make introductions. Garth nodded hello then disappeared to
join Steve, leaving us to chat. We went into the kitchen, where I discovered
she had, in fact, cleaned out my fridge, and emptied the rubbish bin too—on top
of cleaning up the shattered mess Garth and I had left after our fight.
“He seems nice.” Never one to waste an opportunity, she moved straight
to digging-for-goss mode. “Nice” wouldn’t have been my choice of adjective, though
if muscled-up guys were your thing, he was certainly easy on the eye. “Surly”
probably came closer, but Tanya was an incurable glass-half-full kind of
person. “Where did you meet him?”
I smothered a laugh. She’d never believe me if I told her the truth.
Or maybe she would. After New Year’s Eve, a lot of people were finding
it easier to believe in things they never had before.
Our meeting in this very room had left more than a few gaps in the china
collection displayed in the old-fashioned dresser. I moved in for a closer
look. As I’d feared, Grandma’s willow-pattern plate hadn’t survived the
experience. I ran my hand lightly over the pepper grinder, back on its familiar
shelf, a smile tugging at the corners of my mouth. Never underestimate a pepper
grinder in a fight.
“Garth? Feels like I’ve known him for ages.”
I picked up a mug that sported a big new chip, rubbing my thumb over the
rough spot.
“Now you’re back you can check if anything’s been taken,” Tanya said.
“The police will want to know.”
“Sure.” I turned the mug over in my hands, wondering which was the
lesser of the two evils: ignore the police and risk them chasing me up over the
supposed burglary, or file a report and draw Detective Hartley’s attention to a
burglary complete with random blood stains connected to my already-sullied
name.
“I had to come in when I saw a strange car in the driveway,” Tanya said.
“I wasn’t sure it was you. Why didn’t you tell me you were coming back? I could
have picked you up at the airport.”
“No, no, it was fine. I had Garth.”
“Have you?”
“What?”
“Had Garth.”
I choked. I hoped he hadn’t heard that. Werewolf ears were pretty sharp.
“God, Tanya, don’t you ever stop? He’s just a friend.” And thanks very much
for putting that idea in my head. As if my dragon libido needed any
encouragement to start thinking inappropriate thoughts about my employees.
She pouted. “You always say that. What about that gorgeous hunk of man
flesh you work with? What’s he going to think when he sees you running around
with this Garth guy?”
“Actually—” I could feel my cheeks warming as the image of a naked Garth
persisted. “Actually, Ben and I are, um … together now.”
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